A piece of Yukon history is back home in the territory.

It was only fitting that the gold nugget, originally owned by Skookum Jim Mason, was brought back to the territory and put into the hands of the MacBride Museum of Yukon History on Discovery Day.

The holiday commemorates the discovery of Klondike gold by Skookum Jim and George Carmack in 1896 that sparked the Gold Rush.

“It’s a tie-back to something incredibly important in the Yukon,” Patricia Cunning, MacBride’s executive director, said in an interview Thursday of the donation that came from Evan Nelson.

It was just about three years ago that Cunning received an email from Nelson explaining he had the gold and wanted to donate it.

As for Cunning’s reaction at the time, she said, “I think shock and ‘is this real?’”

It was real, and Nelson had the paperwork with the gold at his Wisconsin home. It had been passed down to him from his father, Evan Nelson Sr.

Nelson Sr. had been in the Yukon in the 1940s and purchased the gold from Willard “Deacon” Phelps, who had received the gold from Skookum Jim years earlier as payment.

The paperwork for the largest nugget shows it as weighing a little more than an ounce – an ounce, seven penny weights and four grains, to be exact – and from the Discovery Creek according to the documents that were signed in pencil.

The senior Nelson paid 51 cents for the gold, with the ownership transferred from Phelps to Nelson on Feb. 10, 1944.

As Phelps’ son, Willard Jr., told the crowd who attended MacBride’s Discovery Day event, at that time, his father had been trying to get funds together for Yukon Electrical’s first hydro plant. It’s possible the senior Phelps had sold off some of the gold to raise funds for that.

Much of the gold remained in the Nelson family, with Evan Jr. inheriting it after his father’s death.

Nelson could not be reached for comment for this story.

But Cunning said he made the donation to the museum in the interest of having the gold “come home to the Yukon.”

Nelson had initially invited Cunning to travel south to pick up the donation and bring it to the territory. However, museum officials opted instead to bring Nelson to the territory for Discovery Day.

It was only at the museum’s regular Wayback Wednesday event that patrons learned it would be a unique Wayback Wednesday as a special presentation was announced.

“It was a total secret,” Cunning recalled.

Nelson then took to the stage. He told the crowd he wanted to make a donation to the museum before presenting the gold.

The room was filled with “a little bit of awe” upon seeing the historical gold nugget, and Nelson was given a standing ovation.

“It was just so wonderful,” Cunning said.

Those at the event then had the chance to come up to the stage and hold the one ounce-plus piece of history in their hands.

As individuals approached the stage, many expressed “a lot of gratitude for Evan and his family” for keeping the gold in good condition and donating it to the museum.

“He’s really, really happy,” Cunning said.

It will be placed in the museum’s gold exhibit soon in order to have it on display as soon as possible.

Cunning said it will have a prominent place for display once the museum’s major new addition, now under construction, is opened.